If there’s one good thing about being a singer/songwriter and performer with years of experience under your belt, it’s that even sad songs can make you happy.
Such is the case with Cindy Church, who last appeared in Canmore at the folk festival with Lunch At Allen’s; Murray McLauchlan, Marc Jordan and Ian Thomas. And when sad songs make you happy, a vast body of work is yours to enjoy.
Church kicks off the Live on 7th season at the Canmore Miners’ Hall on Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m. She’ll appear with guitarist Steve Briggs of Toronto.
Her Canmore gig is one of a pair she’ll play in Alberta, the other being in Sherwood Park near Edmonton – with her new solo album Sad Songs Make Me Happy, released in October of 2012.
Sad Songs is Church’s first solo effort in 16 years. Since her last solo work, though, she’s written, performed and collaborated on many albums with pretty much a who’s who of quality Canadian musicians – Lunch at Allen’s, Quartette (Sylvia Tyson, Gwen Swick and Caitlin Hanford) and Rankin, Church & Crowe (Raylene Rankin and Susan Crowe).
“It’s been a long time since I did a solo album,” said Church, a Nova Scotia native who lived in B.C. and Alberta for years before moving to Toronto and calling it home. “I’ve done lots of collaborative work, though, which I love. I just felt like it was time to do this and it’s been a labour of love for over two and a half years.”
Church penned one original for Sad Songs, while the rest are covers. “I’ve always loved sad songs and always will. I had a long list to start with, then I hooked up with producer Danny Greenspan and we trimmed the list down. I love all the songs we chose; they’re ones I’ve wanted to do for 25 years.
“This is a pretty spare album, it’s just me with a guitar or with a piano, so songs were chosen that would work with that treatment.”
Along with the Alberta gigs, Church is planning to put Sad Songs before a few Ontario audiences before readying to tour in 2013. In describing her new effort, genre-wise, Church has settled on roots rather than country.
As a youngster in the Maritimes, music was a big part of Church’s life, with kitchen parties a prominent feature. In school, she played in the band and, this is a secret seldom shared, she played the bassoon. It wasn’t until she was 16 that she picked up a guitar en route to a life of music.
In 1984, Church, along with guitarist Nathan Tinkham, joined Ian Tyson’s band, the Chinook Arch Raiders. Church sang background vocals on three of Tyson’s albums. In 1987, she founded the traditional country music trio Great Western Orchestra with Tinkham and mandolinist David Wilkie. The group recorded an album for Sony Music Canada and received a 1990 Juno Award nomination for Best Country Group or Duo.
Church launched a solo career in 1992 with the release of the single “The Road to Home.” Her second single, “A Song for Brent,” was recorded in honour of Brent Berezay, who became a paraplegic following a rodeo accident. Proceeds from the song went to the Song for Brent Society.
Church won Female Artist of the Year at the 1993 Alberta Country Music Awards. That same year, she joined the country and folk music group Quartette. Quartette won the Canadian Country Music Association’s award for Vocal Collaboration of the Year in 1994 and received three consecutive Juno Award nominations for Best Country Group or Duo from 1995-1997. Peterson was forced to leave the group when she was diagnosed with cancer in 1996. She chose her friend Swick to fill in for her.
Church issued her debut solo album, Love on the Range, in 1994. Included was the Top 20 single “Rockabilly Heart.” She received a nomination from the Canadian Country Music Association for Female Artist of the Year, and was also nominated for Best Country Female Vocalist at the Juno Awards in 1995 and 1996. Her second studio album, Just a Little Rain, was released in 1995.
Church’s third album was released in 1996. The album featured a duet with Ian Tyson on “What Does She See.” The collaboration resulted in a 1998 Juno Award nomination for Best Country Group or Duo. Church continues to perform as a member of Quartette, which issued its sixth studio album, Down at the Fair, in 2007.
As well, Church has three albums with Lunch At Allen’s, the most recent released in 2010. Her collaboration as Rankin, Church & Crowe ended with Rankin’s passing from cancer in 2012.
Over the years, Church has seen herself as more singer than songwriter, but when she does write, she said, “I’m a deadline writer. I work at it when I have to, but I still think of myself as a singer and interpreter.
“I’ve done a lot of collaboration over the years, which is a good challenge, and I hope to keep doing this for a while. I sometimes wish I had other skills, but I love what I do.
“It’s a great life and lifestyle and that’s worked well for me. I have no difficulty being alone or with others and I love to travel.”
These days, living in Toronto, she feels she’s finally settled in. “It took me about six years, but it’s a big change from Turner Valley,” she said. “I’ve been here 14 years now and I think it was the right place for me, so many wonderful things have happened.
“It’s a very neighbourhood-y city, with nice neighbourhoods, I feel pretty lucky to be living here.”
